The High Court has awarded damages to two international protection applicants who were left homeless on the streets of Dublin after the State failed to provide accommodation and other basic reception conditions.
Mr Justice Cian Ferriter awarded €9,500 to an Afghan applicant identified as Mr A, who spent 71 days homeless, and €6,000 to an Indian applicant identified as Mr J, who spent 63 days without accommodation.
The State had accepted that both men were entitled under EU and Irish law to material reception conditions including accommodation, food, clothing and access to hygiene facilities. It also accepted breaches of their right to dignity under Article 1 of the EU Charter.
The damages ruling followed a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union. In August 2025, the CJEU held that Ireland could not avoid liability by relying on an unexpected surge in arrivals and exhaustion of accommodation capacity.
Ferriter J held that the damages should compensate the men for the actual effects of the breaches. He rejected an additional deterrent component, finding that proper compensatory damages themselves serve a deterrent function. He also found no basis for aggravated or exemplary damages because the State had not deliberately set out to cause the applicants harm and had admitted the relevant breaches.
Mr A arrived in Ireland after a serious car crash in Hungary and while suffering significant psychological trauma. He slept rough during cold and wet weather, received almost no financial support for his first 50 days and experienced hunger, fear, humiliation and worsening physical and mental distress.
Mr J slept in a tent near the International Protection Office. He described racist threats, hunger, poor hygiene, theft of his belongings and significant mental and physical stress.
The court granted declarations confirming the State’s breaches and awarded €9,500 to Mr A and €6,000 to Mr J.